


Two Hours

by ikarikari



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Blind Date, M/M, killugon if u take out ur magnifying glass holmes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-11-08 05:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11075283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ikarikari/pseuds/ikarikari
Summary: Melody sets up Kurapika on a blind date and Leorio happens to be eating by himself like a loser on his birthday in the same restaurant. When Kurapika mistakes Leorio for his date, Leorio rolls with it .





	1. Blind Date, I guess?

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a few AU posts on tumblr that I decided to mash together into one fic because i'm a self-indulgent monster. Mature rating just in case of some mild cursing later, idfk how to properly rate this.
> 
> (also this is my first fic for hxh so :) let's have fun bois)
> 
> enjoy!

Kurapika should have refused. Scratch that, he _did_ refuse, multiple times. Melody wasn’t usually the insistent type, nor was she the type of person to pry into Kurapika’s business, if she could help it. That was why she was the perfect roommate for Kurapika. She was gentle, kind and knew that Kurapika required a specific amount of personal space.

 

So, _why_ was he here?

 

Kurapika stood in front of a fairly decent restaurant. It didn’t look too pricey, didn’t look too low brow. Kurapika was at a stand still with a pair of glass doors, surely getting looks from the employees inside as he would cycle through reaching for the handle, then stopping halfway, only to drop his hand again to his side and repeat. He hated this. There was nothing about this idea that he liked.

 

A buzz elicited from his coat pocket and Kurapika yanked it out almost instantaneously, hoping that the messenger was Melody and brought ‘bad news’ that the whole thing had been cancelled.

 

_Have fun! He’s supposed to be nice, so be nice back. It’ll be a good experience!_

 

Kurapika frowned. Melody didn’t orchestrate the blind date, but she sure as hell was excited about it. Her reasoning being that Kurapika needed to have more human interaction in his life besides her, she had a sinking feeling that Kurapika was lonely.

 

Before Kurapika could respond another text flashed across his screen.

 

 _Just try to last_ at least _two hours._

 

Kurapika pursed his lips. Surely, he could last a measly two hours having dinner with a total stranger. He was a shut in, but he certainly wasn’t brain dead. He could carry a conversation with any individual he pleased, he just couldn’t guarantee it would be a pleasant one. Whomever he was meeting, Kurapika hoped he was civilized. He didn’t even have a name.

 

A faint breeze tousled the blonde’s hair and chilled his pale skin. It was time to go inside. Besides, if he stood outside the restaurant any longer he’d be labelled as a creep or a degenerate for loitering.

 

The inside was nice enough. Carpeted in reds and golds and was cascaded in a low light, despite it only being half past five. Kurapika figured that this ambience was the reason all the windows were curtained in long, satin drapery. He ran careful fingers through his hair to straighten himself out.

 

“Welcome to Menchi’s. Do you have a reservation?” The maître d was a petite woman, dressed in black and hair swirled into a tight bun atop her head. Kurapika shook his head in response.

 

“Ahh, no.” Kurapika smiled wearily. “I’m supposed to be meeting someone here. I think he’s already been seated.” Lie. Kurapika’s plan was to leave as soon as he checked the place out. If the man wasn’t here, Kurapika wasn’t going to stick around waiting for him. After all, this meeting was simply a blemish on his already busy schedule. It was a Friday night, but with regular shifts at the campus library he rarely had any time to study or read for himself either, ironically enough.

 

Kurapika peeked around the corner to the bigger half of the dining room. It was jam packed with couples, but there were a few families here and there. In the sea of sat people it was hard to distinguish if anyone was sitting in there alone, which meant Kurapika would have to look. He was tempted to leave right then and there, but resisted in doing so for the sake of Melody. If he could get through this, then Melody wouldn’t press anything like this on him again. Kurapika knew this was experimental on her part, overall he knew that Melody wanted nothing more but for him to be happy.

 

Kurapika sighed, making his way down the narrow pathways and dodging guests being seated or standing up. Initially he walked past him. A lone figure sitting by a draped window. Kurapika pivoted on his heel, preparing for a not-so-subtle double take.

 

That was a man sitting alone, right? He was slumped over, his eyes scanning a menu, his knuckles anchoring his face in place. Unnecessary tea-shades hung low on the bridge of his nose (he did realize he was inside, right?), short dark hair and a light scruff that should have been shaved two days ago. He wasn’t overtly attractive, but not hideous. Average.

 

Kurapika stood there in front of him, clearing his throat to catch his attention. The man looked up expectantly, his visage changed from hopeful to a confused, crinkled brow. Was he not expecting Kurapika?

 

“You’re here for the…date, right?” Kurapika asked. He felt so foolish asking. Why couldn’t Melody at least give him a name to work with! “The blind date? I was told to meet you here, I think.” Now the man’s brows shot up in alarm. He stumbled over his own words (“O-Oh, right! S-Sorry, right. Right”) as he tried to shimmy his way out of the booth. Once he stood, it was clear to Kurapika why it took him a while to get out of that booth.

 

Tall. A whole head and more taller than Kurapika. The man tried to keep a straight posture, but casually hunched lower as he offered his hand. Kurapika figured it was simply habit at this point, trying to make eye contact with people shorter than himself his whole life. Kurapika took the large, tanned, hand firmly. This felt extremely formal given the circumstance.

 

“Kurapika.” Kurapika tried to smile confidently, but fell short halfway. _Good enough_.

 

“Leorio. Pleased to meet’cha.” The man before him (‘Leorio’) grinned toothily.

 

***

 

“Yeah, just a water for now, thanks.” Leorio dismissed the waitress politely and he returned his attention to the ridiculously overpriced menu. He told himself earlier that week that he would absolutely treat himself, no matter what his crying, aching, broken as fuck wallet had to say. Leorio figured that he deserved it, hell, he’d been working his ass off to get into med school.

 

So, _why_ was he here?

 

Alone, for that matter.

 

Today was Leorio’s 23rd birthday. It just so happened that it landed on a Friday night, all his friends were busy partying (which he told himself, he’d join them after 9 that night) and the friend that was supposed to join him for fancy wine and delicious steak dinner had a last minute business trip to attend. He got a rather late call from this so-called ‘friend’. Leorio recalled the conversation that only occurred a little over ten minutes before.

 

_“Yo, Zepile! When are you getting here? I’m standing outside of Menchi’s right now.”_

 

_“Sorry, Leorio! I got called for a last minute appraisal in the next town over! I thought I called you earlier but I guess I forgot.”_

 

_“Hell yeah you forgot! Now what am I gonna do? Go home, jack off and drink by myself? Happy Birthday to me, thanks pal.”_

 

_“You could just eat alone? Treat yourself, bud. I’ll make it up to ya when I’m back tomorrow, nice ol’ bottle of Brandy on me.”_

 

Somehow, Zepile did manage to persuade Leorio to have a nice dinner to himself. There was a small part of him that felt relieved that Zepile couldn’t join him, because the restaurant was dripping with romantic ambience. Leorio felt like he was in a movie, the lowlights, slow jazz and couples surrounding him made him feel lonely and pathetic. At this point, he figured he’d just buy a bottle of wine along with a nice filet mignon and drink himself deep enough to ignore the nauseating atmosphere.

 

Leorio scratched his chin, scrutinizing the amount of decimal places in some of the entree’s. _Yeesh._

 

A small frame passed by his booth, but he simply ignored it, that is, until it returned and remained in his peripherals. The person cleared their throat and Leorio’s head snapped to attention. The figure standing before him was a thin, pale, blond-haired male. He was merely taking a guess of gender, their frame had squarish shoulders, flat chest and boxy hips, but their effeminate, curved face and soft-jawline threw Leorio for a loop. Whomever they were, they were the prettiest damn thing Leorio had seen on this side of Yorknew.

 

 _Blind date?_ The figure spoke, voice smooth and reserved, and Leorio concluded that they were male (unless stated otherwise). Aside from that tidbit of information, the big picture here was that the beautiful man standing in front of Leorio’s table was asking if Leorio was his _date_.

 

A few situations played in Leorio’s head in the manner of seconds between the time he noticed the man and began to move out of the booth to greet him. He could turn him away, be honest and take the honourable route. He could invite him to dinner despite not being his actual date, _or_ he could play the role of blind date for no other reason but a bad one. Naturally, Leorio picked the last and arguably, more convoluted, option of being a damn liar.

 

Once introductions were through, Leorio gestured for Kurapika (an odd name, Leorio thought) to have a seat across from him. Luckily, the waitress left the extra menu at the table, Leorio never claimed he was going to be alone so naturally the waitress probably assumed that Leorio was eating all by his lonesome like some loser.

 

“You must know Melody then?” Kurapika asked while picking up the menu, his hazel eyes intense despite the slack his body language displayed. Leorio bit the inside of his cheek. He had no sweet clue.

 

“Ah, no, actually.” Leorio smiled tighter than usual. “Friend of a friend situation, I guess.”

 

“I see.” Kurapika replied curtly, flipping a page of the menu. Leorio noticed how long Kurapika’s eyelashes were as he was reading. Was this real? Was he experiencing some birthday gift from the Lord or was someone going to jump out at any minute with a camera crew and tell him he just got Punk’d?

 

 _Relax Leorio_. He’d been on dates before. He had this. He just had to get his shit together.

 

“So…” Leorio drawled out the ‘o’. “Kurapika, do you go to school? Work?” Leorio gave up on the main menu and switched it out for the drinks menu instead. If there was one thing that could easily get him through this charade, it would be wine.

 

“I’m currently studying criminal law, working at YNU as an assistant librarian and part-time tutor.” Kurapika stated matter-of-factly, never breaking contact with the reading material in front of him.

 

“Sounds like you’re busy.”

 

“Hn.” An agreeing noise hummed through his peach lips. Leorio knew he should have been annoyed with Kurapika’s tone. It was reminiscent of a parent trying to tune out their own child. Leorio had to assume that Kurapika had zero interest in this blind date, he was a law student, tutor, librarian hybrid of a young adult and Leorio was unsurprised that he might be that way given his description.

 

“I’m pre-med, currently at YNU as well. Applied to medical school last week.” Leorio said regardless that Kurapika didn’t ask.

 

Kurapika looked at him incredulously. Leorio raised a brow.

 

“What…?” Leorio asked cautiously.

 

“O-oh, sorry. I just,” Kurapika pursed his lips, looking unsure how to continue. He did, regardless. “I was just surprised. I thought you were…older. Older than a university student.”

 

“Man, not you too.” Leorio grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose and rubbing his eyes with his forefinger and thumb. Unfortunately, this was a regular occurrence for Leorio. He considered a multitude of reasons why this could be: he wore suits daily, carried an old, leathery suitcase, he was so tall that he developed a natural hunch when speaking to people, he wore his precious ( _signature_ , he thought) tea-shades. Speaking of the shades, he removed them, holding them in one hand while the other ran down his face, resting at his chin.

 

***

 

Kurapika was worried that he had offended Leorio, although, he was only stating facts. Leorio looked like a middle-aged man, Kurapika was genuinely shocked to learn that he was nearly the same age as him.

 

However, when Leorio removed the useless sunglasses, it was as though he regressed ten years. Kurapika raised a brow, wondering why Leorio would willingly wear such an accessory that would age him and be surprised when people would mistakenly point it out.

 

“I’m sorry if I offended you,” Kurapika apologized in a monotonous tone. “There’s nothing wrong with looking older. Some may think you look well-put together.” While that may have been true for a select few people, Kurapika was not one of them. He supposed Leorio was mildly attractive, but he definitely wouldn’t use the word ‘refined’.

 

“Hell, yeah.” Leorio agreed with Kurapika’s less-than-genuine statement, reapplying the silly, small sunglasses back on his face. “I have a _look_ to maintain, y’know?” Leorio straightened himself in his seat, puffing his chest out and tugging on the lapels of his suit jacket with a playfully sly grin.

 

This elicited a snort of a laugh from Kurapika. “Yes, I can see that.” He tucked a stray piece of blonde hair behind his ear, smile small as he glanced back down at the menu. Kurapika had decided what he wanted (basically what he could afford) and closed the menu, sliding it to the middle of the table.

 

“Red or white?” Leorio hummed, flipping a page. “I usually drink red, but white is nice too.” Kurapika took the drink menu and scanned the options, finding something to his taste. Wine was the only alcohol he ever indulged in. Beer tasted too much like ‘frat boy’ gunk and fruity cocktails loaded with sugar only made him sick to his stomach.

 

“Lucky for you, I also like red.” Kurapika turned the menu around, pointing to the type his liked. “I like this brand of Merlot, is that to your tastes?”

 

Leorio squinted, pinpointing where Kurapika’s finger was suggesting and eventually nodded in agreement. Once everything was settled, they ordered their food, getting their bottle of wine first. Kurapika poured himself a half glass, knowing that if he was going to give Leorio a real chance, his standards would have to be inhibited.

 

***

 

The night went on without a hitch, or at least, the first hour was decent enough and Kurapika was still sitting in front of him. Leorio took that as a win in itself. He even made Kurapika laugh a few times. Some other jokes fell, but regardless, Kurapika’s deadpan expression whenever the joke was far too cheesy or pun-like made Leorio absolutely giddy. He loved to tease.

 

Kurapika came around though, Leorio figured the wine loosened the straight-laced man. He even expressed interest on why Leorio was becoming a doctor, which Leorio was less than eager to answer.

 

“Money?” Kurapika parroted, his brow crinkled with disbelief. “Surely, that isn’t the only reason.”

 

“What other reason is there?” Leorio shrugged, taking a bite of his porterhouse. “Saving lives?”

 

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” Kurapika chastised, swishing the wine in his glass before taking a sip. “Stop trying to be cool, I don’t think you’re _that_ materialistic.”

 

“I have dreams of being financially secure.” Leorio replied in nonchalance.

 

“As most people do.” Kurapika retaliated smoothly. “I just think you have other motivations. You’re too nice—Soft.”

 

“How would you know that?”

 

“Intuition?”

 

“Uh-huh.” Leorio clicked his tongue. He could feel Kurapika’s eyes bore into him as he averted his eyes elsewhere, taking particular interest in his own wristwatch. He fiddled with the gold links, hoping Kurapika would drop it.

 

And like a saving grace, Leorio’s phone rang, interrupting the mood with a jazzy tune. Leorio apologized to Kurapika, looking at the screen and noticing the caller ID. _Gon_. He’d have to take this, just in case that kid got into trouble again by his own naivety.

 

“Hey, Gon.” Leorio answered the phone.

 

“ _Hey, Ol’ man_.” Leorio frowned at the snarky, conniving voice that crackled through the receiver. There was music or something in the background, but all Leorio could hear was a rhythmic bass pumping and the occasional screaming of random strangers.

 

“Killua, why are you calling me on Gon’s phone? I’m in the middle of something here, y’know?”

 

“ _First of all, as if I would ever have your number in my phone. Secondly, you mean your date all by yourself? How’s that steak with your sautéed side of pathetic loneliness?_ ”Killua snickered at his own joke. _Real cool, kid_.

 

“I’m actually on a date, thank you very much.” Leorio snapped. “Anyway, get to the point. I know you didn’t call me just to ruin my night, I know you prefer to do that in person.”

 

“ _You’re right_.” Killua replied, then distanced himself from the mic, shouting something to Gon apparently before returning back to the call. “ _Gon wants you to come over to our friend’s house for a party after your sad birthday dinner. Bring your date if they last that long_.”

 

Leorio looked over at Kurapika, whom had probably been hearing everything Killua had said at this point. Leorio’s phone wasn’t loud, but it wasn’t quiet either. The restaurant’s low rumble created by quiet couples did not mask this well.

 

“Yeah, okay. We’ll see. See ya later.” Leorio hung up without hearing Killua say goodbye, knowing very well that he wasn’t going to get one anyway.

 

***

 

“That sounded like a pleasant call.” Kurapika had heard everything. It wasn’t hard and he hadn’t intended to ease-drop, but Leorio’s phone was loud enough on its own. Something did peak his interest though, the mentioning of Gon. Kurapika had been tutoring Gon in math for the past few months, the two had grown quite close, but Kurapika figured that the boy hardly found making friends a hard task.

 

“You know Gon?” Kurapika went out on a limb and assumed there weren’t many Gons out there.

 

“Mhm.” Leorio hummed in response while taking a sip of wine. “I’ve known that kid for years. Lived across the street from each other.” He rest his cheek in his hand, a warm smile gracing Leorios stubbly face. He looked like he was reminiscing a pleasant memory, to which, Kurapika couldn’t help let a small smile show.

 

“He wants me to meet him at some friend’s place, apparently. You’re welcome to join.” 

 

Parties weren’t typically Kurapika’s scene. He hated crowds, loud noises and the overall drunken stupor that was inevitably coupled with the idea. They were obnoxious and frankly, a waste of time.

 

 _Just try to last_ at least _two hours._

 

Melody’s text played through his mind. Two hours. He could do a measly two hours, couldn’t he? It was like he had something to prove. Melody respected his boundaries but was always trying to edge Kurapika into being more social. He couldn’t go home, back to Melody, proving her right once again that he didn’t have the strength—or resolve—to deal with uncomfortable situations.

 

Even though he knew Melody wouldn’t say anything, just the action of him walking through their apartment door would hit him where it hurt the most: his pride.

 

“Sure,” Kurapika replied simply, despite the sirens wailing ’No! No! No!’ inside his head. It couldn’t be that bad, right? Gon was going to be there, he was a good enough kid and…Leorio, whom he’d just met, but seemed reliable enough. Surely, he wouldn’t leave Kurapika alone to deal with inebriated fools in a stranger’s house?

 

“Well, I’ll pay then.” Leorio smiled, waving over the waitress and gesturing a writing motion, signaling that he wanted the bill. Kurapika opened his mouth prepared to protest, but Leorio hastily put up a large palm, silencing Kurapika before he could even speak. “I insist.”

 

He didn’t feel like arguing in the middle of a restaurant, so he kept his mouth shut. Kurapika was much too prideful to allow someone else pay for him, but Leorio presented himself equally as stubborn, and they’d probably just end up talking in circles. So Kurapika conceded, trying to convince himself it was probably worth his while since this place was expensive. They also drank an entire bottle of wine and that was not a number Kurapika wanted to see.

 

“Are you ready to go?” Leorio asked, having already slid out of his side of the booth. He straightened his suit jacket before placing large hands into his pants pockets.

 

“Yes.” Kurapika nodded, pushing himself out of the booth and following Leorio outside. The sun had set, the night bringing a colder air. Kurapika could see his breath, little clouds forming from his lips and dissipating as he walked through it.

 

Wherever they were going, Kurapika would have to mentally prepare. According to Leorio, the house was only a few blocks away. Just enough time for Kurapika to grab his bearings, have an internal debate with himself and grab his bearings once again. It was easy to pretend he was listening to Leorio, the man talked and talked, leaving little room for Kurapika to answer with anything but agreeing noises.

 

“Kurapika,” Leorio repeated, waving a hand in front of his face. Kurapika’s eyes widened and he shook his head.

 

“O-Oh.” Kurapika smiled weakly. “I’m sorry?” Leorio raised his brow, a suspicious grin curled at his lips.

 

“I said, we’re here,” Leorio said with a light chuckle. He patted Kurapika on the back. “Have you been listening to me at all?” When Kurapika didn’t answer and smiled wearily, Leorio got his answer. He placed his hands on his hips, closing his eyes and feigned an offended sigh. “Oh, I see how it is.”

 

“I was having a far more interesting conversation in my head, that’s all,” Kurapika retorted with a false confidence. A near panic attack did not count as a riveting conversation, but he wouldn’t drag Leorio down with such a topic.

 

“I bet.” Leorio narrowed his eyes. “Well, as long as you’re all right. You were really spacing out there.” Leorio leaned down, placing his palm on Kurapika’s forehead. Kurapika jolted at the touch, not used to having someone get so close despite barely knowing them. Leorio must have figured it made him uncomfortable, as he retracted his hand rather quickly, a flustered expression on his face.

 

“Sorry—habit.” Leorio shoved his hands back into his pockets. “You don’t feel warm, so I guess that’s not it.”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

Leorio hardly looked convinced. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, his face pensive. Kurapika felt bad about lying to him. He was most certainly not fine, the idea of going into the home before them, blaring profane music that mimicked the beat of his own heart in that moment.

 

“I’m just nervous…” Kurapika confessed, a heat rising to his ears in embarrassment. “I’m not used to _this_.” He gestured to the entirety of Leorio—to which Leorio scrunched his face in confusion and offense—and Kurapika shook his head. “No—not you.” Kurapika huffed, growing flustered and frustrated by his inability to voice his feelings.

 

“I’m not used to dating. Or parties.” Kurapika crossed his arms, averting his gaze. “Never done either…so it’s a little daunting.”

 

“That’s all right,” Leorio stated matter-of-factly. He thrusted a thumb towards himself, his mouth twisted into a playfully, sly grin. “Do you think I came out of the womb being this cool?” Leorio reflected on what he’d just said, his brow furrowing in regret. “Scratch that. That sounded really weird.”

 

Kurapika chuckled lightly. Leorio was definitely more outgoing than him, but he also struggled with putting his thoughts into words. It was kind of cute. Kurapika always felt he was stiff and unwelcoming when he struggled, but somehow Leorio charmed his way through it.

 

“Anyway,” Leorio began. “Don’t worry, it’s normal. It can be scary when you don’t know anyone.” He placed a hand on Kurapika’s shoulder, sans Kurapika flinching this time. “You have me in there. Whenever you want to leave, I’ll take you home, okay?”

 

“Thank you.” Leorio’s words eased Kurapika’s thoughts slightly, knowing that he meant what he said. Kurapika would not hesitate to tell him he wanted to go, even if it meant leaving Leorio there while he caught a cab.

 

Leorio walked up the concrete steps with Kurapika in tow and knocked on the door. Kurapika took a deep breath, watching the way Leorio balanced on his heels while they waited. Without warning a small man with mousey brown hair opened the door. Leorio apparently knew the guy, his face beaming and slapping the man—named Pokkle—a high five that made an obnoxious cracking noise.

 

Pokkle frowned, holding his hand by the wrist. It did sound like it hurt. Kurapika could barely hear anything, the music too loud for his senses. He could make out Leorio apologizing while he pat Pokkle on the back, mindful of his strength that time.

 

Leorio turned to Kurapika, introducing him to Pokkle. Kurapika tensed, smiling wearily as the smaller man held out his hand for Kurapika to shake.

 

“Kurapika,” he replied. Pokkle cupped his ear, gesturing for Kurapika to speak up. Kurapika swallowed thickly before speaking up. “ ** _Kurapika._** ” As he said his name loudly, the house grew silent, the music cut off. Kurapika looked back at Pokkle with widened eyes, his cheeks inevitably flushing in embarrassment.

 

Pokkle chuckled, his laugh short and nasally. “It’s nice to meet you.” He withdrew his hand, throwing a thumb behind his shoulder. “Come on, everyone’s waiting in the back.”

 

“Why would they be waiting?” Leorio asked with a suspicious tone. His eyes narrowed at the mousy male. Pokkle simply waved it off, but Kurapika certainly noticed the slight panic in his eyes.

 

“Whatever, just hurry up dude.”

 

Leorio shrugged, kicking his shoes off and gesturing for Kurapika to follow. Kurapika did, the voices of strangers growing louder as they grew closer to the den. Boisterous laughter travelled far through the house’s thin walls. Kurapika swallowed the lump in this throat. He could do this.

 

 _One hour_. He only had to last one hour.

 

 


	2. Socializing is Hard (Party All Night)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey!! long time no see <:) i was out of the country for a while plus i'm lazy so it took me a while to finish this (i also changed the rating from M to T bc i nix'd a scene i planned to do and lowered the rating)
> 
> thank you to my beta-reader kasuria for reading my mess and fixin it up for me
> 
> enjoy!!

Leorio followed Pokkle with Kurapika in tow, who followed both of them with cautious steps. When they rounded the corner, Pokkle placed a hand on a doorframe, gesturing for Leorio and Kurapika to head down a set of stairs to the basement. Kurapika tensed, not sure if he’d want to be in such an enclosed area with an undetermined amount of people. Leorio must have sensed Kurapika’s anxiety, simply throwing him a thumbs up as he held the top of the doorway, having to dip down since his gangly body was too tall. He ducked under, descending down the stairs in a hunch, his knees almost hitting his chest with every step. Kurapika followed slowly, one hand tracing down the wall, his focus shifting between Leorio’s broad back and the dangerously small steps.

 

The once jubilant laughter and conversation Kurapika had heard before dissipated to a dull roar. Now a group murmur collected to a disjointed hum, and harsh whispers cut through easily with a lack of subtlety at all. There seemed to be a hurried hush, and Kurapika wondered what could have been transpiring as they descended the narrow, steep, roughly carpeted stairwell.

 

Light broke through at the end where the basement and stairwell met, a bannister separating the two. Kurapika watched as Leorio’s attention turned towards the light, a grin gracing his profile and his tea-shades bouncing as his nose scrunched in a confused delight. Leorio made an understanding ‘Ahh’, grinning wildly as he hurried to reach the bottom of the steps, almost losing his footing near the end. Once Kurapika was able to, he peeked into the room to see a group of people—including Gon, the only person who he really recognized—standing around a shoddy table with an array of liquor arranged upon it. They were all smiling and shouted in unison ‘Happy Birthday!’ to which Kurapika jumped. He bumped into Leorio’s side, who hadn’t moved from his place at the bottom landing. Leorio didn’t even bother looking down and wrapped a happy arm around Kurapika’s shoulder, basically taking in the entirety of Kurapika’s body and mushing it against his torso. Kurapika made a noise of discomfort, his cheek pressed up into Leorio’s hard ribcage.

 

“Hey—“ Kurapika tapped Leorio’s arm with a strained voice and Leorio released him with a jolt.

 

“O-oh! Sorry, Kurapika,” he apologized, withdrawing slightly. Kurapika straightened himself out and placed a defensive arm across his chest, holding his left arm. Leorio hopped off the elevated landing and went in for a hug, some people—a cat-eyed white haired male—dodging out of the way of his lengthy arms. Gon was one of the people captured, laughing and patting a large, tanned hand on the back of Leorio’s suit. Once Leorio let the group of people go, Gon retaliated, wrapping toned arms around Leorio’s waist and picking him up without trouble. Kurapika’s eyes widened. He knew Gon had only been admitted to YNU for a sports scholarship, but he had no idea he could just lift a 200 pound man like it was nothing. If that was the case, Kurapika could be thrown as easily as a football, the image slightly frightening.

 

Kurapika decided that he looked awkward watching from afar and timidly moved inward, standing by Leorio but outside the fray. The white-haired boy cast him a wayward glance while he took a sip of whatever concoction in a red solo cup. He beckoned Kurapika over with two fingers, his unamused expression unwavering. Kurapika took the invitation and walked over casually, despite his caution.

 

“Are you Leorio’s date?” The bluntness and disbelieving tone of the boy’s question actually elicited a snort from Kurapika.

 

“Kurapika,” he introduced first. “But yes, I joined him for dinner earlier.”

 

“Really?” His nose scrunched. When Kurapika nodded, the boy did a double take from Kurapika to Leorio. “ _Really?_ ”

 

Kurapika laughed nervously. Was it really that unbelievable? Kurapika never thought of himself as vain. There were rare instances that he truly felt attractive, but it was just never really something important to him, regardless if he was objective enough to notice the range between others.

 

“Yes,” Kurapika began. “It was a blind date, so interpret that as you will.”

 

“You lasted the entire date?” The boy raised a thoughtful finger and muttered to himself, “A blind date would definitely make sense though…who would willingly date Leorio?” Kurapika smiled at the comment, not sure if he was meant to hear it in the first place.

 

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

 

“You must have a strong stomach.”

 

“He’s not that bad.” Kurapika had planned to make a witty retort, but what came out was a natural defense of Leorio. It was true, anyway. Leorio had been nothing but polite and kind to him. Perhaps he could be a little awkward, but Kurapika was too, albeit, a different brand of awkward altogether. Leorio’s made him funny, while Kurapika’s tended to drive people away.

 

The boy mumbled something inside his cup, averting his gaze. He looked back and sighed as if he was conceding.

 

“Killua.”

 

Ah. So _this_ was Killua. Gon had mentioned this boy in passing during their tutoring appointments. Usually they were off-handed comments like, ‘Killua will be mad at me if I’m too late’ or, ‘Killua says I’m too dumb to understand this kind of math.’ For such negative comments, Gon never spoke of them with an ill tone. He always said them with a smile, which led Kurapika to believe that Gon was either oblivious, extremely patient or something else altogether.

 

Speaking of Gon, he was walking towards them, a grin that stretched from ear-to-ear and sunshine radiating from every pore of his tanned skin. Kurapika squinted—it was simply too bright.

 

“Kurapika!” Gon waved, passing one of the two cups in his hand to Kurapika. Kurapika took it without a second thought, figuring that if anyone was going to give him a safe drink, it would be Gon. Kurapika looked down at the liquid curiously. It was pink and carbonated and smelt very much like concentrated sugar. “I didn’t know what you’d like, so I just picked something.”

 

“Thank you.” Frankly, Kurapika didn’t want to drink it. The only alcohol he enjoyed was wine. He took a reluctant sip anyway, not wanting Gon’s good intentions go to waste. It was sweet, too sweet for Kurapika’s tastes.

 

“I’m surprised you’re here. Whaddya doin’ with Leorio?”

 

“There were on a date,” Killua interjected. “Leorio got lucky.”

 

“What? No way,” Gon said in awe. He turned to Killua. “But you’re right, Kurapika is super smart.”

 

“That’s not what I meant.”

 

Kurapika, who definitely got what Killua meant, flushed. Trying to hide it, he raised the cup to his lips again, feigning a sip from the glucose-induced beverage. Gon just laughed it off, scratching the back of his head while Killua pointed a pale finger at him, educating him on what he didn’t get. Gon made an ‘o’ shape with his mouth when he finally got it, in which he commented that it was just like him and Killua. Killua flushed furiously, punching Gon in the bicep before calling him ’Stupid’.

 

So that was it. Kurapika was starting to connect the dots between the two younger men.

 

“Either way,” Gon began, pulling Killua closer with a strong arm. He wrapped it around Killua’s shoulder and the white-haired boy would no longer look Kurapika in the eye. “Thanks for keeping Leorio busy. I was trying to set this up so he wouldn’t know. We were still finishin’ up when you guys showed up.”

 

“I see.” Kurapika smiled weakly. “Glad to be of service.” Kurapika remembered briefly how he was on the edge of leaving before the date even started. That would have thrown a wrench in Gon’s plans and potentially harm Leorio’s birthday, but Kurapika would have been none the wiser. It was funny how things seem to fall into place, Kurapika still trying to find out whether this was a good decision or not.

 

He had a feeling that the unyielding honesty of inebriated college students would have a large say in his decision.

 

***

 

Leorio inhaled a long drag of his cigarette, leaning over the precarious, wooden porch railing. All the houses in this district were old as dirt, located in an old part of Yorknew that was wildly expensive for the lack of work that had been done to the buildings since the 1970’s. They were close to the university though, thus students gathered as many roommates as they possibly could to sausage their way into the shoddy, two-story homes.

 

He looked down, thankful that the porch was connected to the ground. If the woodwork should crumble beneath him, he could probably catch himself despite his intoxication. He’d come out for a smoke to alleviate the swirling in his brain, knowing very well it was just a temporary nicotine rush and he would still be drunk. Not quite off his ass, but he was getting there. If Ponzu rallied for shots one more time, Leorio would be down for the count.

  
Leorio heard the sliding door open behind, and he craned his head to peek over his hunched shoulders. Kurapika walked up beside him, his natural strut looking a little heavier than before. Leorio raised a brow, curious that Kurapika might have actually been drinking.

 

“Your friends are nice,” Kurapika said off-handedly. “Ponzu is kind of pushy after a few. She made me…drink this _thing_.” Kurapika held up a cup, his mouth curling with distaste. Without asking, Leorio took the cup by the rim, swishing the liquid before taking a sip for himself.

 

“How many of these have you had?” Leorio asked, the taste of the rum piercing through the diet soda. It tasted like coke-flavoured rum to be honest. Leorio could handle it, but he doubted Kurapika’s small 5’7” frame could take more than two of these. His own intoxication was pushed slightly aside, all his senses devoted in making sure Kurapika wasn’t going to ralph over the side of the porch.

 

“Mmm,” Kurapika hummed. He looked upward as he recalled, counting with his fingers, his forefinger tapping each count. He stopped after two, then looked at the cup Leorio still held and bit his lip. “That’s…my third?” At that, Leorio placed the cup on the other side of him and out of Kurapika’s sight. Kurapika didn’t seem to care though, he was too busy tracing the etchings in the old wood to even notice that he was being capped.

 

“How you feelin’?” Leorio asked, puffing his smoke away from Kurapika. “Are you okay?”

 

Kurapika nodded, his voice quiet through a sincere smile. “I’m fine, I think.” He looked up at Leorio, who was still taller than him despite being hunched over. His head lulled and tilted to the side, his eyes narrowing on the man in scrutiny. Leorio didn’t know how to feel being looked at so intently, Kurapika’s brown eyes glazed with hazy examination. Leorio cleared his throat in slight discomfort, but Kurapika’s pretty face remained unfazed.

 

Kurapika reached up and pinched onto the frames of Leorio’s shades. “Why do you wear these?” He lifted the frames from behind Leorio’s ears, the left side hitching on the shell. Kurapika seemed determined to keep steady. His hands wobbled, but he eventually removed the shades from Leorio’s face. Kurapika turned the shades around, his finger tracing the thin metal frame that encircled the dark lenses. “It’s dark outside, they have no purpose.” He held the glasses in front of him, peering through the lenses before putting them on his face. They were a little too big for his small visage, the bridge of the frames just being held up by the tip of his nose.

 

Leorio smiled, his brows crinkling as he tried to hold back a laugh. The lil bugger was cute.

 

“I look stupid now,” Kurapika stated matter-of-factly. Leorio’s smile upturned into a frown. Was he insinuating that Leorio looked stupid with his shades on? “You look better without these, by the way.” Yep. There it was.

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Yes, you look less like an old pervert.” Kurapika folded the glasses, slipping them into Leorio’s breast pocket.

 

“Are you saying I still look like one without them?”

 

Kurapika cupped his chin thoughtfully. His eyes scanned Leorio from top to bottom and back up again. Leorio sighed, throwing his cigarette on the floor and putting it out with his shoe despite only being halfway through.

 

“It shouldn’t take you so—“ Leorio’s voice heightened with a surprised yelp when he was suddenly yanked down by his tie. He was now eye to eye with sharp brown eyes, his own dumbfounded face reflected in them and boy, did he look dumb. He smelt the alcohol lingering on Kurapika’s still breath. He swallowed. This was kind of…close. The kind of close that usually leads to no good, depending on who you ask. If you’d ask Leorio in that moment, he’d say, ‘Sure, why not?’ because he was too inebriated to care of the consequences. Leorio swiped a tongue over his dry lips.

 

“Uh…Kura—“

 

“Hush.” Kurapika placed a finger over Leorio’s damp lips. “I’m thinking.” Leorio craned a brow but zipped his mouth shut and actually acted out the notion. Kurapika smiled at this, followed by a playful snort.

 

Thinking about what? Every damn follicle on his face? How he hasn’t shaved in two days despite having a date (which wasn’t planned by Leorio either)? Was it the weird freckle he had under his left eye? Leorio never spent this much time examining a face and if he did, it was usually the morning after when the person was asleep. It was the only time it wasn’t _as_ creepy. He was now presented with the opportunity to do so now with the man in front of him, but the pressure of being under a microscope kept him from truly being able to relish in Kurapika’s natural beauty.

 

Kurapika hummed, brushing the back of his fingers up the scruff of Leorio’s face. He turned his hand over as he reached the end of Leorio’s jaw, cupping the cheek instead. Kurapika leaned in and placed a gentle—and frankly, _awkward_ —kiss on Leorio’s lips. Leorio, neck and back killing him at this point, applied whatever pressure he could, trying to tell Kurapika that it was reciprocated despite the circumstance. It was Kurapika who broke it first, the kiss itself only lasting about three beats. He finally released Leorio, and Leorio breathed a sigh of relief, straightening himself out and rubbing the back of his sore neck. He also loosened his tie considerably, just in case inspiration to kiss Leorio like that struck Kurapika again.

 

“That…” Kurapika trailed off, folding his arms. “was not as good as I thought it’d be.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

“It’s not your fault. I’ve never kissed anyone before.” He looked away. “I’m smart enough to disassociate reality from fiction, but everything I’ve read has made it seem far more appealing.”

 

“Well, I just had a smoke, which you _saw_ me having,” Leorio chastised, feeling the urge to have another after Kurapika’s negative analysis of their kiss. “Also, I can guarantee its better with practice. Or having someone else lead—who knows how.”

 

“Do you know how?” Kurapika’s attention was back on Leorio now. His expression was a muddled form of curiosity and disbelief. Was it honestly so hard to believe? Leorio remembered seeing Kurapika talking to Killua earlier, and he wondered if that snot-nosed brat instilled the idea to that he was some kind of loser. Leorio certainly wouldn’t put it past him. He noted to ask Gon to embarrass that punk in public after tonight.

 

“I wouldn’t call myself an expert or anythin’ but, yeah, I know how.” 

 

“I see.” Kurapika shifted his weight to one side. He drummed his fingers on his arm. “Should I try again?”

 

Leorio thought long (probably too long) and hard about the proposition. Kurapika was offering something that he certainly didn’t dislike, and honestly, Leorio didn’t expect much to come from his stupid charade. On the other hand, Kurapika was intoxicated, and despite how fluent he spoke, Leorio could just see it in the slurred body language. Kurapika was nervous before stepping into the house, but now suddenly he was yanking at Leorio’s tie and stealing kisses.

 

Sometimes Leorio cursed himself for being the good guy.

 

“As much as I’d love that,” Leorio sighed, placing a hand on the small of Kurapika’s back. “I think it’d be best if you drink some water and lay down. We can talk about that later.”

 

“All right,” Kurapika agreed, allowing Leorio to guide him back inside and into the kitchen. Kurapika nearly tripped over the small gap between the deck and the sliding door, and Leorio caught him by the chest, saving Kurapika from face planting onto the cheap tile. Kurapika mumbled a thanks before taking Leorio’s hand and using it as a crutch.

 

“I thought I was fine until we started moving again.”

 

“That’s usually what happens,” Leorio said, steadying Kurapika in the kitchen as he fished for glasses in the cupboards. On his third try (in his stupor, he accidentally checked the same cupboard twice), he finally found a pair that definitely belonged to Ponzu, decorated with cute little bumble bee toons. He ran the two glasses under the tap and passed one to Kurapika. “Drink slowly. It’s best not to chug water after drinking so much, no matter how thirsty you are.”

 

Kurapika nodded and drank the water, Leorio watching him carefully all the while. His own water provided some momentary relief from his own haziness. Once Kurapika had finished, Leorio poured him another and told him to drink it at his own pace, but that they’d find him a place to rest first. Leorio sat Kurapika down at the kitchen table and told him to wait a second while he asked around. Kurapika promised that he wouldn’t leave his seat and mimicked a salute, which was so cute that Leorio’s knees buckled as he gripped Kurapika’s shoulders.

 

Leorio descended the precarious staircase rather sloppily, almost falling down them due to his hasty, sloppy footwork. He hopped off the last two steps, spotting Ponzu immediately as the amount of people in the basement had decreased significantly. Leorio noticed the absence of Gon and Killua and wondered if they had headed home already. He checked his wristwatch, the small hand just missing the 11. To Leorio, that seemed kind of early to be skipping out, but he digressed.

 

“Hey, Ponzu.” The small, teal-haired woman spun around, abandoning her conversation with Pokkle momentarily.

 

“Leorio!” Ponzu said with a happy slur of the ‘r’ in his name. Her smile faded once she realized he was alone. She looked past Leorio on both sides. “Where’s your cute lil friend? We were having fun.”

 

“You put him out of commission.” Leorio put his hands on his hips. “You know when you put liqour in diet sodas it—you know what, never mind, you won’t remember anyway.” Leorio was getting off topic. He came to ask for a free room for Kurapika. “Can he borrow your bed? He needs to lay down for a bit.”

 

“Don’t take him to my room and be gross.” Ponzu’s tone was teasing, her finger poking into his chest rather roughly. Leorio narrowed his eyes at her and she huffed. “Man, you’re no fun. Yes, he can rest there until I pass out.”

 

“Thanks, I’ll be back down afterwards. I’m still good to go for another round.”

 

“Hell yeah!” Ponzu said raising her cup.

 

Back upstairs, Kurapika was true to his word and sat there and waited for Leorio to return. Leorio figured that Kurapika didn’t want to stand again after sitting down, afraid of the rush he would get by standing.

 

“You okay?”

 

Kurapika hummed in response and then shook his head.

 

“I don’t want to get up.”

 

Leorio scratched the back of his head and went with the only idea he had for this situation. It was a poor idea, but to mildly drunk Leorio, it was better than trying to inch Kurapika up a set of stairs. He crouched down holding out his hands behind him, inviting Kurapika to climb on his back.

 

“Get on. This way, you don’t have to walk.”

 

“Really?” he replied incredulously. This was the first time Kurapika’s speech was slurred, which lead Leorio to believe he was trying really hard not to slur his words before.

 

“Yes, _really_. You can barely walk.” Kurapika argued that he could but quickly gave up after he stood, holding his head as the world around him probably spun right before his eyes. He grumbled, but climbed onto Leorio’s back reluctantly. Leorio secured him with a ‘hup’ as he stood up, realizing that Kurapika weighed close to nothing. He walked slowly and carefully, trying to keep the pace steady to avoid causing unnecessary bumpy movements that could otherwise upset Kurapika’s stomach. Kurapika was cute and all, but not cute enough to still be cute after he puked on him.

 

Leorio got up the stairs with relative ease, but he halted, realizing now that he had no sweet clue what room was Ponzu’s. Before him was a hallway with four doors, the only one open a bathroom at the end of the hall. He knew Pokkle and Ponzu lived here, so two of those closed doors were their rooms. Another dude also lived here, but he was out of town, or so he was told in a heated conversation about student housing with Pokkle earlier that night. He at least knew that two of them were downstairs and the other room should also be empty. He’d know which room was Ponzu’s as soon as he saw the inside.

 

Leorio knocked on the first door on his right. He paused, waiting for a response. When he didn’t get one, he opened the door, only to be greeted with Gon half-naked on the bed, Killua next to him and pulling the sheets over his head in shock.

 

“Fuckin—knock, old man!” Killua screamed from underneath the covers.

 

“I did!” Leorio snapped back. “Maybe if you weren’t too busy neckin’ you coulda answered me!”

 

“Well, it isn’t a show, get the hell out!” Killua popped his angry head from the covers and threw a pillow at Leorio. Gon was in tears, laughing wildly and grasping his bare abdomen. Kurapika was laughing too, his laugh airy and distant. Killua punched Gon in the arm, telling him to stop laughing, because it wasn’t funny.

 

“It is too! Your face is priceless,” Gon disagreed between hitches in his breathing. He wiped the tears from his eyes. He looked like he was in physical pain despite the giant toothy grin he wore.

 

“It is not!” Killua protested, shoving Gon off the bed, and Leorio decided he had seen enough. He didn’t like seeing his pseudo little brother and the brat in that sort of…situation.

 

“Whatever. Be safe!” Leorio yelled before slamming the door shut. Kurapika was still chuckling to himself quietly, the vibrations of his laugh echoing through Leorio’s chest. It felt nice, Kurapika’s body heat warming him with an odd sense of comfort.

 

“I’m glad you find this funny.”

 

“Mmm,” Kurapika hummed, his mouth pressed into Leorio’s shoulder. “You reminded me of a flustered father, yelling ‘Be Safe!’ to a couple of teenagers you caught canoodling.”

 

“Canoodling? Nice choice of words, grandma.”

 

“Shut up. You know what I mean.”

 

“I don’t know, Kurapika. Just what _is_ canoodling?” Leorio feigned ignorance with a playful tone. Kurapika slapped Leorio’s collar bone where his hands were linked and buried his face into the gap between Leorio’s shoulder blades.

 

“I’m not going to answer that.”

 

Leorio chuckled. “Mhm. I figured.”

 

Through process of elimination, Leorio eventually found Ponzu’s room, which was the cleanest room in the entire house. There was a simple desk and nightstand, a framed picture of her immediate family placed neatly on the top. There was a lamp next to the picture on the nightstand, which looked out of place with its bright colors. Leorio lowered Kurapika on the bed, Kurapika not letting go even when sat on the edge. Leorio parted Kurapika’s hands gently and they slumped off like deadweight. He stood and turned, Kurapika’s eyes closed with drowsiness, but answering the little questions with slow nods and hums of agreement. Leorio laid him down, Kurapika easily complying with a happy sigh as he snuggled his head into the pillow.

 

“Thank you,” Kurapika exhaled. His voice was airy and content. Leorio felt bad, not noticing how much his date had actually been drinking. He knew that Kurapika was going to wake up feeling absolutely miserable, which he was going to make sure didn’t happen—or at least, keep it minimal. Kurapika’s breathing had already evened out, slow and calm as he drifted off to sleep.

 

Leorio sat at the side of the bed for a few moments after, brushing the stray bangs that fell on Kurapika’s lashes away from his face. His lips pressed into a fine line, remembering that the only reason he met the (seriously too attractive) guy was through happenstance and a lie. He would come clean once the time was right.

 

***

 

Kurapika awoke groggy, his head felting like it was swelling and shrinking like a pulsating muscle. Wait, was he hearing his heartbeat in his head? He held his face, his brows furrowing as he didn’t feel his own skin. His hand patted damp, cold fabric before picking it up and taking a look for himself, which only confirmed what he already thought. His vision focused onto the cutely patterned face cloth.

 

He sat himself up, feeling a heaviness in his stomach. It felt like he had a boulder sitting in the bottom of his gut, but he surprisingly didn’t feel nauseous. Kurapika licked his dry lips, taking in his surroundings. This was not his room, but he woke up alone. On his right was a nightstand, a glass of water and what he assumed was an ibuprofen beside a lamp and an analog clock, the small hand inching closer to a cursive number one.

 

Kurapika’s memory was hazy, but he was reminded of Leorio as he reached over and thumbed the chalky capsule between his forefinger and thumb. Leorio had carried Kurapika up to this room to rest, able to remember that much. He recalled talking to Leorio on the porch, his collar smelling faintly of secondhand smoke. And the girl. The woman—Ponzu—she was the one who kept filling his cup whenever he reached the dreadful bottom, where the taste of the liquor was potent, burning his taste buds as the sips became hard to swallow.

 

He popped the pill into his mouth, tilting his head back and swallowing it without the assist of water. Kurapika slid to the edge of the bed, chugging the water to ease his annoyingly dry mouth, very aware of how warm the water was and how little it did for him to clear his head. He could only assume he’d been out for a while. He knew it was almost one in the morning, but he wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he was awake.

 

Kurapika was lucid now, and suddenly he was aware that more than two hours had passed. He could leave, but he wouldn’t do so without saying goodbye to Leorio.

 

Kurapika stood, feeling lightheaded as he shot up from the bed far too quickly. He shook it off, heading out of the room and descending downstairs with purpose. He grabbed his coat from the crowded coatrack, fishing his phone from the pocket. He had missed a couple calls from Melody some hours ago, but nothing else. He craned a brow, wondering what would be so urgent this late at night. He dialed the number, ringing three times before he gave up, assuming that she was asleep and that he shouldn’t wake her.

 

Kurapika heard people speaking the closer he got to the basement, but he needn’t have to traverse down, as Leorio and Pokkle were also on their way up, the smaller man acting as a crutch for the taller, lankier and greatly intoxicated one. Pokkle breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Kurapika standing at the top of the stairs, claiming that he needed help with the ‘big guy.’ Kurapika took Leorio’s forearm, Leorio’s face lighting up as he recognized the familiar face.

 

“Hey, you feelin’ awwright?” Leorio asked in a slur.

 

“I’m fine, thanks to you.” Kurapika lead him upwards in pace with Pokkle, who seemed to be struggling. After all, until Kurapika showed up he was practically carrying a man nearly a foot taller than him up the world’s most narrow stairwell. “Doesn’t seem like you are though.”

 

“No, no—I’m great. Feelin’ great.”

 

“I bet you are,” Kurapika agreed with a weak smile. Once they reached the top, Pokkle let go, letting Leorio stand on his own, but his weight then shifted to Kurapika. Leorio looked down at Kurapika with a goofy grin. It was charming, only because it was an honest one.

 

“He got a little out of hand,” Pokkle confessed. “Ponzu and him went nuts, but I’m only capable of taking care of one person at a time, so…”

 

“It’s okay, I’ll see him home.” Kurapika’s plan was originally just going to be to leave him on the couch, but Leorio should be taken home. Kurapika had an idea of how terrible his morning was going to be, so the last thing Leorio would want to do would be to travel home when he felt miserable. “Do you know the address?”

 

“No, sorry. I’ve never been.” Pokkle scratched the back of his head. “He usually meets us at bars and takes himself home. Says his place is too cramped for visitors.”

 

“You can come over, Kurapika,” Leorio offered, patting the top of Kurapika’s head. Kurapika flushed, craning a suspicious brow at Leorio’s obvious special treatment and drunken invitation to spend the night. Pokkle cleared his throat before retreating downstairs without a word, probably not wanting to stick around for whatever else slipped from Leorio’s filterless mouth.

 

“Thank you for the invitation, but I’m just going to take you home.”

 

“Lame, we coulda played a game. Scrabble.”

 

“You honestly think you could play Scrabble right now?”

 

“I could play it with my eyes closed.” Leorio closed his eyes and pointed to them to illustrate his point.

 

“I doubt it, considering the nature of the game,” Kurapika sighed, plugging for a driver in an app on his phone. He heard Leorio mutter something along the lines of, ‘Well, it’s not _really_ Scrabble,’ which Kurapika tried his best to ignore. “What’s your address?”

 

Leorio was in the middle of putting on his suit jacket when he paused, looking off above Kurapika’s head with a thoughtful, borderline confused expression. He scratched the back of his neck, looking down at Kurapika who was waiting, his hand armed to write the destination address.

 

“I—uh…don’t know?”

 

“What do you mean you ‘don’t know’? Don’t you know where you live?”

 

“I mean—I do, I just forget.”

 

“That still makes little sense, Leorio,” Kurapika chided, getting a little impatient with the lack of explanation, and it showed in his tone. He was beginning to remember why he hated being around intoxication.

 

“I moved last month, I’m still used to my old address. I know that it’s on 5th, though.” Leorio looked a little defeated, forgetting something as simple as directions to his home. “I would know it if I saw it.” Kurapika certainly hoped so. Although, the idea of walking around the streets of downtown Yorknew after midnight wasn’t an appealing one, so Kurapika opted out of that plan. He didn’t feel like getting mugged because he decided to bear the responsibility of babysitting a large, drunken child.

 

Kurapika sighed, typing in his own address. “I guess it can’t be helped.” Lucky for Leorio, Kurapika only lived a few blocks away from 5th. His walk of shame would be a short one come tomorrow morning. Kurapika and Leorio stepped outside to wait for their ride, the night air cooling Kurapika’s senses. He never even noticed how warm the house was and how uncomfortable it had made him. For the first time in a while, Kurapika was thankful to be outside. Usually, the breeze annoyed him, blowing his hair in his face and ruffling the pages of his books, but tonight it was welcomed. Leorio patted his pockets, looking for his pack of smokes. Kurapika swatted his hand away, claiming that it wouldn’t be a good idea to smoke when Leorio was so far gone. Leorio ignored this, flicking a stick out of the pack and lighting it away from Kurapika. This did little however, as the breeze was blowing in Kurapika’s direction.

 

“Besides,” Kurapika continued, shuffling to the other side of Leorio. “Isn’t that bad practice? Don’t you want to be a doctor?”

 

“I want to save lives,” Leorio clarified, exhaling a streak of smoke. “I’ll do whatever I want with my own.”

 

“I see.” Kurapika decided not to lecture Leorio, mostly figuring it would fall upon deaf ears. He figured that Leorio would probably know his own health than anyone else anyways, and Kurapika wasn’t the perfect picture of health either, his bad habits usually keeping him from having a proper sleep schedule. “How about secondhand?”

 

Leorio shot him a look. Kurapika shot him one back. Leorio quickly conceded, sighing and mumbling something unintelligible as he used Kurapika’s shoulder as a crutch to extinguish the cig on the bottom of his shoe. Leorio straightened, sticking his hands in his pockets as he did so.

 

“Happy?”

 

Kurapika hummed in response, a small smile curved the corners of his lips. Leorio smiled back, his much larger in comparison.

 

“Good.”

 

The car arrived moments later, Kurapika watching Leorio like a hawk as he clumsily tried to get all his long limbs into the car. Leorio bumped his head on the door frame, hissing a curse and rubbing the back of his head before he slid into his seat in the back. Kurapika joined him, sitting next him to watch for any telltale signs that he might vomit. Kurapika didn’t want to have to pay the fare anymore because Leorio couldn’t hold it together. Leorio noticed that Kurapika had his eyes on him intently to which he told Kurapika that he was ‘fine’ and didn’t need to babied, unless, of course, Kurapika was staring because he thought Leorio was attractive.

 

“By all means, don’t let me stop you.” His tone teasing and sort of sultry, his voice legato.

 

Kurapika scoffed, deciding he’d look out the window the rest of the drive home to hide the pink in his cheeks. _As if_ , he thought, burying away any irresponsible thoughts. Leorio made a disgruntled noise behind him, but Kurapika didn’t pay any mind as he watched the night life pass by him. Neon lights, scantily clad women and idiotic men were all that accompanied the city streets at this hour.

 

When they arrived, Kurapika and Leorio walked into the lobby to find that the elevator was broken—again. It wouldn’t be an issue for Kurapika usually, but with Leorio’s lack of motor skills he hoped the spiral staircase wouldn’t be too much of a challenge for him. The building was old and sound travelled far, Leorio’s questions and comments echoing within the stairway corridor. Kurapika repeatedly told him to hush, that people would evidently hear him, his voice naturally loud and the old walls to the hallways horribly thin.

 

Kurapika entered his apartment slowly, trying to avoid the natural squeal of the large front door. Melody was most likely asleep and her ears were sharp, which made her quite the light sleeper. Kurapika wanted to avoid waking her, pressing a finger to his lips and telling Leorio to be quiet for his roommate’s sake. Leorio nodded, his footsteps a lot harsher than Kurapika’s, but Kurapika was too tired to care anymore.

 

The apartment itself was open concept, one big room with a kitchen and a living room attached. Kurapika’s room was closest to the back and connected to the living room portion. He eyed the couch that he was originally planning for Leorio to sleep on, quickly realizing that it was smaller than he thought. Or, more accurately, he misjudged how freakishly tall Leorio was in comparison. Kurapika huffed, sacrificing his comfort to take the couch and guided Leorio to his bedroom.

 

His room was small, but it was the master suite, an even tinier bathroom attached by a small hallway of closet. His bed was a queen, only because Melody gifted him the mattress when she got a new one. Kurapika got used to the space and actually preferred it after a while. He gestured for Leorio to make himself comfortable and flicked on the lamp seated on the nightstand. Kurapika grabbed a change of clothes before heading to the bathroom to change. He was very much over wearing everyday clothing, and he yearned for shorts and baggy tees and to lay in his own bed. The last part wasn’t going to happen, but alas, Kurapika was being uncharacteristically nice tonight. Was he still inebriated? He splashed some water on his face and went through his usual night routine before returning back to his own bedroom, where Leorio had stripped down to his underwear (save for his shirt that was hanging off his shoulder) and lay face down into a pillow. _Unsightly_ , Kurapika thought, accompanied by a snort of a laugh.

 

“Do you need anything?” Kurapika asked, standing by the edge of the bed. Leorio responded, his voice smothered by the pillow. Kurapika sighed, placing his hands on his hips. “Talk to me, not the pillow.”

 

Leorio obeyed, turning his face towards Kurapika. His sunglasses were still on his face, skewed upward and off the bridge of his nose. Kurapika chuckled, bending down and removing them carefully. Leorio didn’t even flinch, he just let it happen (for the second time that night, which Kurapika didn’t remember) and didn’t even seem to understand what Kurapika was doing until he saw the glasses in Kurapika’s slender hands. His mouth formed an ‘o’ shape.

 

“You are a fool,” Kurapika said simply, still smiling.

 

“Yep.”

 

“Now, do you need anything before I go to bed?” Kurapika asked again, turning slightly to place Leorio’s tea-shades on the nightstand next to him. When his attention returned to Leorio, his position had changed. He was now propped on his elbow, the other arm outstretched slightly and his fingertips brushing Kurapika’s cheek. Kurapika stiffened, eyes wide as they focused on the hand currently touching his face. The warmth spreading from the end of Leorio’s flat fingers caused Kurapika’s pale complexion to speckle pink.

 

It was all too obvious what was to happen next and regardless of how much it caused Kurapika unease, his heartbeat gained speed and thumped against his ribcage as Leorio drew closer, allowing it to happen. Kurapika merely followed his instincts and shut his eyes with a wince, unable to see Leorio approach but preferred it that way. His only indication of Leorio’s closeness was hot breath drifting over his lips, the smell of alcohol and cigarettes quickly becoming the taste of alcohol and cigarettes.

 

The pressure applied was firm but Kurapika couldn’t pinpoint a skill level on it, having no experience on the matter of kissing before this. He wasn’t sure what to do, his body ceasing to Leorio’s will, which wasn’t forceful or ill-intended, but definitely had a destination in mind. Kurapika’s adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed the last bit of his nerves, using Leorio’s hand (which was now entangled in his muss of hair above his neck) as guidance as he pushed back into the kiss.

 

Kurapika sighed, leaning onto the bed so Leorio didn’t have to reach so far. Both of Leorio’s hands cupped his face, calloused thumbs pressing into his cheekbones as long fingers lost themselves in blond hair. Kurapika gripped the sheets, unsure where to put his hands as the kiss transpired and turned into a chain of such, Kurapika letting Leorio take the lead as he started to admit to himself that he actually _liked_ it. It seemed improper and rather inappropriate given they had just met that evening…but people participated in activities like this with far less time spent together, right?

 

It wasn’t until they parted briefly that Kurapika took the opportunity to create a minor distance between them.

 

“What are you doing?” he asked, the question delayed around seven kisses ago. Leorio raised a brow, looking rather perplexed by the blond’s inquiry. It wasn’t exactly rocket science and Kurapika knew the answer, yet he wanted some confirmation that this was actually happening. It wasn’t every day that someone showed genuine interest in him, which was mostly his fault—he never let anyone get close enough to even try.

 

“Kissing you…?” Leorio answered as if it were a trick question. Kurapika bit his lip and avoided eye contact, despite believing he was prepared for such a basic and obvious answer. Leorio must have noticed his discomfort, though, as he withdrew his hands from Kurapika’s face. “I’m sorry, I thought—No, I just assumed you wanted to. Look, I’m sorry—”

 

“No, its fine,” Kurapika assured, raising a hand to signal Leorio to stop apologizing. Leorio promptly shut his mouth and appeared eager for some sort of explanation. Kurapika sighed, unsure how to properly explain himself. He didn’t even know where to start or what words to use, as he didn’t even know what the hell he was feeling in that moment. Surely it couldn’t be anything besides lust—he had just met Leorio and that was hardly any time to establish any type of romantic connection. Perhaps Kurapika believed it was a blow to his pride to fall so quickly into intimacy. He always told himself he was above all that nonsense.

 

“I…don’t _dislike_ it,” Kurapika admitted, taking one of Leorio’s larger hands and gently thumbing the row of knuckles. “It’s all new to me.” His eyes flickered up to Leorio’s. “I don’t know how to feel about it yet.”

 

“Ahh,” Leorio said in realization. He clicked his tongue. “Well, at least I wasn’t god awful I guess.” The snort of a laugh that came from Kurapika’s throat made Leorio smile. Kurapika decided he really liked that smile—it was too honest and goofy for its own good.

 

“No,” Kurapika confirmed, taking a seat on the edge of his bed as he knees had become sore from kneeling for so long. His weight shifted the mattress, causing Leorio’s body to move with it and pressing his lower half into Kurapika’s thigh. “It was quite good, all things considered.”

 

“All things considered?” Leorio parroted. “What is there to consider?”

 

“You’re not exactly sober.”

 

“I’m not exactly drunk off my ass anymore either. I can do better.”

 

“Oh, is that so?” Kurapika asked, feigning a disbelieving tone. Leorio simply nodded with a hum.

 

“Yep. Not to brag, but I’m pretty slick. Too bad you’ll never know.”

 

“You’re right, I suppose I’ll never know. I’ll survive.”

 

“Ouch, tell me how you _really_ feel.”

 

Kurapika sighed, rolling his eyes. He yawned, remembering how late it was. He was absolutely exhausted, having done many things he usually wouldn’t do. Being social was tiring. Babysitting Leorio was even more so. Trying to decipher his own feelings past midnight was a hopeless endeavor.

 

“Anyway, we can talk about this later.” Kurapika stood up. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight, Leorio.”

 

Leaving no room for Leorio to protest, he had no choice but to concede. Kurapika watched as Leorio wriggled himself under the covers, bidding Kurapika a muffled good night as he buried himself in the soft fabric. Kurapika left the room, closing the door behind him and collapsing onto the couch. He exhaled, letting his body sink into the old cushions as if it was the most comfort he’d had in years.

 

Although it was weird and complicated, he did it. He lasted the whole night through. Kurapika huffed, getting more than he bargained for from this silly interaction. He would work it out later—maybe.


End file.
